A standard compression packing comprises an elastomeric sleeve that coaxially surrounds a shaft and has a plurality of lips or folds defining annular inner peripheries that radially inwardly engage the shaft. The seal is received in an annular compartment formed in a body surrounding the shaft and is typically axially compressed therein both to force the inner peripheries against the outer surface of the shaft and to prevent leakage axially around the outside of the seal. Such seals are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,356,947, 3,784,214, and 4,486,002.
When the shaft and surrounding body must be separated and/or when the seal itself must be replaced, tools must be employed to get the seal out of the compartment holding it. The long-term compression has typically seated the seal so solidly in place that it is destroyed when it is removed. Frequently also the labor of digging out the seal scratches some surrounding surfaces, since a hard tool like an extractor or screwdriver is usually employed for the removal.